Welcome to the Goring Parish Council Website
Goring Lock
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Vibrant © Goring and Streatley Photo Soc
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Thames at Goring ©Countryside Agency/Anne-Katrin Purkiss
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Youth club summer project.
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Goring is one of the most charming and vibrant villages in south Oxfordshire, located on the east side of the Thames and at the western edge of the Chilterns area of outstanding natural beauty. It offers many attractions as a residential, tourist and recreational centre and was selected as south of England village of the year 2009. In addition to its tranquil riverside scenery, Goring is a convenient base for exploring many places of interest, including Oxford, the Chilterns and the Cotswolds, and is only an hour or so from London by train. Goring marks the intersection of the prehistoric Ridgeway path and the modern Thames long-distance path. It is a magnet for walkers. Click here for more pictures of places in and around Goring.
Goring's Roman history is still being unearthed. Today it has a resident population of some 3,500 and is served by a range of excellent shops, hotels, restaurants, pubs and other services. Its rail links mean that many people work in London, Reading or other towns but can enjoy the pleasures of living in the country. The village has more than 40 active sports, social and recreational clubs and societies and branches of many national charities and environmental groups. It also has Anglican, Roman Catholic and Free churches. Goring is twinned with Bellême in Normandy and there is a regular programme of exchange visits.
The role of the parish council is defined by law. Goring parish council has 13 elected members and is administered by the clerk. The full council meets six times a year, normally in the village hall.
Over the five years from 2004 to 2009 the council agreed an average annual expenditure budget of just under £99,000 and an average annual income budget of about £23,750. Goring parish council's precept (that part of the council tax that makes up the difference between parish council income and expenditure) is the fifth largest of the 74 parish councils in South Oxfordshire. However, over the past five years the precept has risen by only 13.9 per cent while the cost of living generally, as measured by the government's retail prices index, has risen by 14.6 per cent. This performance has been achieved in part by bearing down on costs in general and in part by ensuring that the discretionary income from facilities provided by the council, such as the burial ground and open spaces, keeps pace with the particular costs of maintaining those facilities. Over the five years to 2009, annual budgeted income will have risen by more than 85 per cent while budgeted expenditure will have risen by only a tad over 20 per cent. The council delegates certain powers and duties to standing committees, of which there are three.
The role of the Environment and Recreation Committee is to maintain and enhance the attractive environment of the village. It is responsible for street cleaning and the control of litter. It oversees maintenance of the council's footpaths, bridleways and verges and seeks to control intrusive overgrowth of hedges, trees and weeds. It maintains and administers the burial ground and oversees the provision and maintenance of public lighting and community notice-boards. It also maintains certain other village assets, including the war memorial, village hall clock and flagpole. The committee provides modest cash grants for deserving local community organisations and actively supports the provision of facilities for young people in the village. It is the council's main point of contact with law enforcement agencies on matters of community safety and security. It encourages and promotes road safety and makes recommendations to county and district councils for the management of traffic and car parking. The committee has a duty to promote and encourage environmental sustainability and energy saving measures, including walking and cycling for local journeys. The council is aware of the health and social benefits to be gained by all members of the community from easy access to recreational facilities. So the business of the Environment and Recreation Committee is also to encourage sport and leisure activities by making open spaces and high quality support facilities available in the village. In particular, the committee has a regular programme for protection and maintenance of the Bourdillon playing field, the Gardiner recreation ground, the Sheepcot field, the Ferry Lane open space and the Rectory Garden. It ensures that resources are made available to cut the grass, trim hedges, prune trees, inspect and renew children's playground equipment and maintain buildings, as necessary, within the practical and financial limits of the council. It is also responsible for ensuring that good standards of behaviour are established and upheld by all legitimate users of its facilities and that covenants and conditions of use applicable to individual properties are adhered to and kept up to date. In addition to supporting the needs of regular users, the committee is empowered to grant requests for occasional use of its facilities by organisers of funfairs, scout and guide camps, cross-country runs and other suitable events.
The Finance and Administration Committee is led by the vice-chairman of council. It prepares the annual budget and recommends the precept, or parish council tax, for approval by the full council. Once the budget is agreed the committee's main job is to see that all money due to the council is actually received and accounted for, ensure that actual spending stays as close as possible to the budget and maximise non-tax income from investments and paid-for services. An integral part of this is to examine periodically the council's financial procedures, identify opportunities for improvement and implement agreed changes. The committee manages the council's administration and directs the clerk on administrative policy. It takes responsibility for compliance with financial, employment and health and safety laws and for adoption of current good practice with regard to audit, insurance, property management and communication with ratepayers, the press and the general public. In exceptional circumstances, it falls to the committee to decide how to deal with urgent business that cannot wait for a later meeting of the full council or one of the other committees.
Day-in, day-out, the job of the Planning Committee is to respond to all planning applications referred to the parish council by South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) except a few applications regarded as of "substantial significance" to Goring. (These are considered by the full council.) In all cases SODC, as the local planning authority, decides whether planning permission is granted. The committee's role is to canvass, and represent to SODC, the opinions of Goring residents likely to be affected by a development proposed in a planning application. Factors taken into account include architectural merit, the likely effect on neighbouring properties, local planning policies, the likely impact on the conservation area and the local areas of outstanding natural beauty and any consequences for Goring generally, such as amenity and local access to services. The committee is also responsible for reporting apparent breaches or neglect of planning laws, preparing submissions for planning enquiries and advising the council on significant planning initiatives such as draft development plans and proposed changes to planning laws or the definition of "permitted development rights".